One hundred small businesses across the country have been named by Australia Post to be part of this year’s edition of its long-running Local Business Heroes program.
This marks a record for the program as Australia Post decided to almost double the total number of Local Business Heroes from last year’s 57 to help more small businesses dealing with the challenges of rising inflation and costs.
As one of the named Local Business Heroes, each winner will receive a package of business support, products and services to bolster their existing eCommerce capability.
Australia Post noted that there was an increase in applicants who wanted to be part of this year’s program with over 4000 entries that were received, a 400 per cent increase from last year. Businesses from regional Australia made up 40 per cent of the Local Business Heroes winners.
Australia Post Executive General Manager Parcel, Post and eCommerce Services, Gary Starr, said that the response to this year’s application phase has been remarkable and a strong indicator of the need to support small Aussie businesses, which are the lifeblood of our economy.
“Small businesses operate at the heart of all communities across Australia,” Starr said. “Australia Post is extremely proud to provide support to hard-working business owners – helping their businesses to thrive. I’m particularly delighted that, this year, we’ve seen an influx of applications from business across rural and regional Australia, which made up almost a third of all applications, who might not have the same opportunities as those located in metro locations. I look forward to seeing the winners reach new customers and utilise other benefits of the program.”
This year, the number one category for entries was clothing – representing 18 per cent of Local Business Hero applications. The second highest category was Arts and Crafts at 13 per cent of applications with several winners belonging to this industry. Other business categories included Jewellery and Accessories representing 11 per cent of this year’s applicants, Bath and Body Products at eight per cent and Food and Drinks also at eight per cent.
The Local Business Heroes program is designed to help businesses through coaching, marketing and technology support. Applications were open to all small businesses who are selling products online and are an existing customer of Australia Post.
In 2023, the recipients choose five benefit options (out of eight) to make up their $5000 Local Business Heroes package. The eight options are made up of four key categories: Marketing, Sending (packaging and postage), Staying Connected and Business Coaching.
